Femoral Hernia

Femoral hernia

       Femoral hernia is one of the rarest forms of hernia out there, occurring naturally in only 3% of patients. The thing about any kind of hernia is that it can be due to a natural weakness of your body or to a caused weakness (these types of hernias are called incision hernias: after a surgery, the surrounding tissue is thinner, thus allowing your viscera to pass through them into outer cavities). Femoral hernia is naturally occurring hernia: your femur is tied through a femoral canal with your abdomen. That canal is considered a weak spot inside your body, making it easy for your organs to move through it to the other side. However, it does not develop suddenly. Normally, it takes years for the muscles to loosen enough for the femoral hernia to appear.

Femoral hernia pictures

       Unlike other types of hernia, this one can be considered sexist: though it does affect both men and women, it prefers women because of their wider pelvic bone structure. With that kind of pelvis, the femoral canal is naturally wider and the muscles are looser to begin with. Also, in women that have given birth, a femoral hernia has become, in recent years, almost a standard post - birth condition.

       When talking about an age preference, this illness is more likely to develop in fully grown adults than young children, simply because the latter have not had the time to strain their muscles. If it does appear in children, it is surely related to a birth defect or a genetic problem, such as connective tissue disorder or an increase in intra - abdominal pressure. Also, more than 70% of pediatric cases of this condition occur in children under the age of one.

       Just like any other type of hernia, femoral hernia has two subtypes:

• A reducible form: also called a sliding hernia, the name describes it perfectly. The bulge that appears at the surface of the skin can be pushed back inside your body if you apply pressure. Be careful though, do not push too hard and risk breaking the sac. One unusual characteristic is that, unlike its other siblings, this hernia is painless. Keep in mind that it is, also, the most common type of femoral hernia.
• A irreducible form: this time, the bulge cannot be forced back into your abdomen. If you suffer from the incarcerated version, that part of your organ that is trapped outside its natural location is cut out from its blood supply and dies, slowly, but surely. This causes pain and, in severe cases, fever and bleeding.

       One special form of hernia is the obstructed femoral hernia: in this case, a part of your intestine completely surrounds your hernia, wrapping itself around it and putting an end to your normal digestive process. It leads to constipation, vomiting, nausea and lack of appetite.

Symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of femoral hernia

        The symptoms are similar to those of more common types of hernia:

• Pain: it appears only when the femoral hernia has evolved into its irreducible version. It can be local, general or referent.
• Constipation, vomiting, lack of appetite, weight loss: in its more severe forms, when the blood supply of the trapped organ has been cut off, your entire metabolism is imbalanced, leading to all of the above.

       The diagnosis of femoral hernia is not complicated. Actually, it rarely implies more than a visual confirmation by the surgeon. If it pains you, the treatment must begin immediately, simply to avoid serious complications. In special cases, young children or obese patients, any sort of imaging is used to discover what kind of organ is trapped inside that bulge.

       Be careful though, it is easy to mistake a femoral hernia for an inguinal one or for an aneurysm of the femoral artery. They are impossible to differentiate until the surgery itself.

       The treatment is classic: the only way to repair a hernia is by surgery. The specifics of the procedure are best left to be explained by specialists, but the gist is that your surgeon will push the bulge back inside your abdomen or simply cut out that part of the organ if it is already dying. When talking about post operatory care, you must not exert yourself for a few weeks and eat lightly, so as not to force your intestines.